Vain Expectations
by H O R S I I
Summary: One-Shot: Team 7 silently reunite as emotions run high between the three, each toiling in their own thoughts. Naruto, still unsure of what to do. Sasuke, lost to hatred. And Sakura, troubled by her actions. Powerful friendship based off of Chapter 484.


_I'll know when I see him..._

Beared knuckles, a tightening grasp, shredded through mere air in the attempt to inflict a mortal wound. Pain throbbed at the young shinobi's temple and his vision was a clouded haze of ember blood as he flashed his eyes upward attempting to cast a gaze on the appearance of a new opponent. Someone else to kill. Someone else in his way. Bearing the pain with a clenched jaw, his left leg sank with the heavy weight he carried, trying hard to detect the new chakra that now swarmed in the air. Sakura was no longer in his hands, his claim. And when he tried to focus his eyes, he could barely see anything, but a tall figure, and enraging blue eyes. It was bent over what was Sakura's shocked body, the words of a name whispered over his ears - uttered in the same essence of surprise. For someone who reacted with little emotion, he was startled by the slight jump of his heart in his burning chest.

Naruto.

The chakra emitting from this figure threatened to fog the whole air, swallowing Kakashi's, and engulfing Sakura's. The familiar yet ascending flamed energy reminded him almost immediately of past memories spent. Moments swiftly flashed before his eyes, taunting in his mind, as images of the past grabbed at his heart but which had grown to numb for much feeling. The choking sobs of Sakura ceased, safety now blanketing her, the last single tear shed for Sasuke rolled silently down her cheek. Her body was curled in the blond's arms, as Naruto's own body shivered in a mash of emotions, swelling his body and eating at his heart. Emotions, he knew not how to deal with, attacked at him. His hands held Sakura tighter, brought her limber frame closer to his own body, savoring the smell of her and trying his best to wipe away that painful face that swept her features. He rose a thumb to her cheek, brushing aside her tear in the most gentle manner she had yet to experience and be touched by... Let alone Naruto. Her own heart thudded in a mixture of fear, of gratitude, and her shaking appendages softly brushed her saviors clothing.

Always being saved. She bit down hard on her lip closing her previously agape mouth, trying to hold back a new force of tears, tears that were not for Sasuke - but tears that were now for Naruto. He was always there, at the right time, so why did she lack the ability to return the favor? And save him? Why did she always have to trouble him? Burden and hurt... It was this pain that now seemed to trouble her more than anything. She had believed she had outgrown her inadequacy. She parted her lips, trying to say something, anything, but the words had been pulled right from her mouth as she stared up at him. She could feel his pulse under her hand, and it raced, wildly. Fear again encompassed her.

_I'll know when I see him..._

Naruto's burning blue eyes now morphed gold bore down on Him. His eyes were unlike the eyes Naruto had once known. They were glazed in red and black, overshadowed in a darkness deeper than Naruto thought possible to reach. The abyss of the sea. Too deep to go into and to come back. His hands continued to hold Sakura, he didn't want to let her go, not when Sasuke was around.

She couldn't kill him...

But could he?

A slight twinge of pain ebbed on the side of his cheek, a small drop of crimson blood fell from the wound that could have been hers; could have been at her throat or at her heart. It fell upon her smudged cape, and she watched it signally drip with intent eyes. Her own fingers now feverently grasped at his clothing. "Naruto, g-gomen..." she whispered softly, so inaudible that Naruto himself barely detected it. But he heard it, as he would always hear hear her voice. But he failed to look back down at her, failed to verbally respond. Instead, he held the stare of Sasuke, those raging eyes contained no emotion other than hatred. It sent a shiver down his spine carrying a sharp sensation of disappointment.

Slowly, in hesitant reluctance, Naruto eased Sakura back down. She found her footing, wary of letting go herself. But she found that strength in his touch, recoiled her fingers, and took a step back from him. She raised her chin, allowing his tears to slowly fall from her green eyes. This was his moment, he had said so himself, that he wanted to save Sasuke. Her chance at reconcile was over. Redemption for herself toiled in a loss of success. But she knew, saving was out of the question. Sasuke was gone.

Naruto raised his head, tipped his chin, rolled back his shoulders, erected his back. Kakashi paused midstep. Pain swelling at his limb, throbbing at his eye wondering, _'what are they going to do?'_

A sharp tooth plunged from Naruto's mouth, he watched Sasuke, then turned his whole body around to face him. "S... "

Sasuke tried to make his body stand tall and straight, to mirror Naruto's stance, but he fumbled forward with his body swallowed in affliction.

"SASUKE!"

The worn silence broke in that split second of his roaring voice. The yell echoed through the valley, hushed the world, and bellowed an inner grief that had built as tall and as heavy as a mountain over the past agonizing years. Years of questioning, of wondering, of loss, of hurt, of a broken heart - a broken bond.

Sasuke didn't make a response just continued to regard the developing ninja whom had once been his team mate, and even at one time, his best friend. Someone whom he had failed to kill in order to disdain Itachi.

_Itachi..._

_Itachi..._

"SASUKE!"

Reality whirled back.

Naruto took a staggering foot forward. Jaw clenched. Breath hard.

_I ll know when I see him..._

Naruto's eyes stared at the lonely kunai in Sasuke's palm, the weapon that could have taken Sakura's life. If he hadn't made it in time, if he had been a split second behind, he would have been holding her dead body instead of hearing her body, her sparse breath, her alive heart.

He almost killed her.. he was _going _to kill her.. this was not Sasuke.

He knew.

Yes, Naruto knew. Clasping his hands together, forcing chakra to the surface of his palms, he knew this was it. Her life had been endangered, it was enough of a threat to make Naruto leap to a conclusion. Sakura had come here to kill him, Naruto knew that he had promised to bring Sasuke back to her, but that promise only held the horrid fate of being broken. The tears on her face proved the words that had been exchanged between them earlier had been a cover up, something to make him feel better after toiling with the guilt of what she thought she had put him through. This fight was as much hers as it was his. He wasn't just doing that for her, he was doing it for himself. But that didn't work. He knew she cared about his well-being, and in some unbelievable way, that was plenty enough. He could feel it, he knew it, that she still loved Sasuke. But she cared about him too. She couldn't bear to pierce Sasuke's flesh intentionally. She was only fooling with herself, but at least she was trying to find an answer.

He was running away from it.

He knew that he had to do something.

_Think hard about what you can do for Sasuke._

There had to be an alternative to death. How could he both save Sasuke and fulfill his promise? He looked back at Sakura, her eyes watching him, staying on him, burning on his back.

"Kakashi-Sensei..." Naruto first started with a raspy voice, clearing his head from the anger that had fogged his intuition, "take Sakura somewhere safe. Away from here. Away from him."

He looked back at the kunai. It carried a small trace of his boiling blood.

A small noise burbled at the throat of Sasuke, emitting from his lips as they parted larger and larger to resonate a reverberating sound that chilled Naruto's bones and iced Naruto's skin, shocking him again. Numbing his anger for only a moment. Sasuke laughed, his shoulders cracking, his neck bent back in a distort manner that seemed to infuriate Naruto even more. No words had been passed between them, only bloody stares, ragged tremors of emotions, and clamoring feelings. Here Team 7 stood, finally reunited, but more separated from each other then they ever have been before...

All that was left of them were vain expectations that could never be filled. Dreams that had long been lost.

* * *

My first published fanfiction... _ever_. I was compelled to write something after reading chapter 484, seeing that last panel of pages 16 and 17 made me have tears in my eyes and nothing had even happened yet! Still, the emotion that Kishi put into that image tugged at my heart, and made me tear. In my anxiety of waiting, ( a whole other week! ) I decided to write my take on the event. I want to write more, but I honestly don't know if I can write what I believe is going to occur after this.

So far this will be labled a one-shot, but if I get any good ideas or inspiration, I might add to it. I know I want to, I just don't know how.

I'm all ears for respectable criticism, thoughts, and opinions. Please comment!


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